Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape *

I am someone who remembers useless stuff about music and artists, whether I like them or not. I know many of you are the same way. We read album liners to discover suprising collaborations or guest artists (how many thousands of songs has Linda Perry written?). We read interviews with artists and bands that we would never listen to. The first thing I do when I buy a CD is smell the liner. I love the smell of new CDs.

I know a fair bit about Gwen Stefani. My wife was into No Doubt, and so became a Gwen Stefani fan. I have smelled her CDs. I have marvelled at the number of songwriters and producers she works with. I am not ashamed to tell you I have even enjoyed many of her songs. Basically, I'm an anti-hipster. I like music that sounds good to me, usually regardless of who sings it. (Did you buy Adrenalize by Def Leppard? I did.) Mind you, I avoid mainstream radio and will never intentionally listen to old school country or death metal. I'm not being a snob though, I just don't like it.

If I remember correctly, PF wasn't big on Gwen Stefani's last album. I think (I should check but it's late and I want to go to bed) it got something around a 5.0. I didn't understand that rating; it wasn't outstanding, but I really thought some of the shit on it was seriously bananas. So because she is so mainstream now, I'm going to predict a 4.3 for this new one. Actual rating: 6.5. Point differential: 2.2.